Area's representatives split on bill

by scott waldman Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Monday, November 9, 2009

President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House about health care reform and Iraq's new electoral law after returning from Camp David Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Washington. (Ron Edmonds / Associated Press)

President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House...

The Capital Region's members of the House of Representatives voted on opposite sides of the health care issue after months of heated rhetoric finally led to a floor vote Saturday night.

The Democrat-controlled House narrowly passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, 220-215.

U.S. Rep. Paul D. Tonko, D-Amsterdam, was one of 219 Democrats and one Republican to support the plan. U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls, was among 39 Democrats who voted with the Republicans because he said the plan would put affordable health care out of reach of many small businesses.

Murphy, driving back to the region Sunday after the grueling 14-hour day in Washington hammering out the final details of the bill, said the plan does not restrain "monopolistic" private insurers and puts health care coverage out of reach for small businesses. He said his office received 1,000 calls from constituents Saturday alone and that he voted against the legislation because it would place too many burdens on local families and businesses.

"It didn't do nearly enough to take out waste and inefficiency and control costs," Murphy said.

Tonko said Sunday that he voted for the plan because it will provide insurance for 22,000 people in his district and eliminate a Medicare loophole that has 7,300 seniors paying out of pocket for prescription drug costs.

"To me, health care reform is about helping people, not politics," he said in a prepared statement. "It's about giving everyone access to affordable, quality health care. With this legislation, we bring quality health care within reach of millions of Americans and enhance the care that those with insurance and Medicare already receive."

The 1,990-page, $1.2 trillion legislation would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide federal subsidies to those who otherwise could not afford it. Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees. Both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defied the mandates.

Insurance industry practices such as denying coverage because of medical conditions would be banned, and insurers would no longer be able to charge higher premiums on the basis of gender or medical history. The industry also would lose its exemption from federal antitrust restrictions on price-fixing and market allocation.

At its core, the measure would create a federally regulated marketplace in which consumers could shop for coverage. In the bill's most controversial provision, the government would sell insurance, although the Congressional Budget Office forecasts that premiums for it would be more expensive than for policies sold by private companies.

To pay for the expansion of coverage, the bill cuts Medicare's projected spending by more than $400 billion over a decade. It also imposes a tax surcharge of 5.4 percent on income more than $500,000 in the case of individuals and $1 million for families.

Saturday's vote will likely only intensify the debate between the bill's supporters and detractors as it moves to the Senate.

In the run-up to a final vote, conservatives from the two political parties joined forces to impose tough new restrictions on abortion coverage in insurance policies to be sold to many individuals and small groups.

"It will block women from getting insurance for legal medical procedures with premiums paid in their own personal funds," Pappas said.

Citizen Action of New York already is planning rallies to convince Murphy he should approve the revised version when both chambers negotiate and approve a final bill, said Bob Cohen, the group's policy director. He praised Tonko, but said Murphy had been "misdirected" from the promises of health care reform he made on the campaign trail.

"We think the message he's sending to voters is that health care is not the priority he said it was when he asked to be our member of Congress," Cohen said.

Republican lawmakers have vowed to do all they can to stop the Democratic plan, which they contend will cost jobs, raise insurance rates and lead to huge tax increases. GOP Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, who lost to Murphy in the special election in April, said Sunday that more Democrats and Republicans would have voted for the bill if it truly was going to lead to health care reform. He blasted Murphy for reversing himself after promising voters he would support a public option.

But Murphy said the bill, as written, would not benefit his constituents. He said he spent Saturday weighing the vote with his staff, but was particularly concerned about a last-minute provision that would add $50 billion in taxes on paper mills and medical devices manufacturers, two of the largest private employers in his district. He said he is still committed to health care reform and will work for better provisions in the bill as negotiations continue.